“That fired me up a little bit,” said Dent, who advanced to the third round by beating Almagro, 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5. “I was pumped out there.”

When it was suggested Almagro’s words – it is considered bad form in tennis to cheer when your opponent fails – should be good preparation for Dent’s next match against the confrontational Lleyton Hewitt, Dent broke out in a smile.

“Yeah, sure,” Dent said. “I’m ready.”

Dent’s victory, a hard two-hour, 35 minute match, sets up his confrontation with Hewitt, who didn’t have a walkover, either, as he took down Jose Acasuso, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6, 6-2, in two hours and 31 minutes.

Hewitt, known to get a rise out of his opponents by making some noise after mistakes, will be facing Dent for the second time this year at a major. Hewitt ended Dent’s Wimbledon, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (9-7), 6-3.

Dent’s serve-and-volley game makes for a classic battle against Hewitt’s groundstrokes. Dent beat Hewitt for the first time in five tries earlier this year in Hewitt’s backyard of Adelaide, Australia.

Tomorrow, Dent will have to combat Hewitt’s personality as well as his game.

“Bottom line, everybody’s trying to win out there,” Dent said. “They’re trying to do whatever they can to win out there. I guess there is some court etiquette amongst the players. Cheering on double-faults and easy missed shots, I wouldn’t call that super sportsmanship. I don’t think too many of the guys would. I don’t even think Lleyton would.”

When it was relayed to Hewitt that Dent kindly grouped him with players who don’t have the best sportsmanship, the Aussie didn’t seem to care.

“It doesn’t faze me a whole heap,” Hewitt said. “It’s still a matter of me going out there [tomorrow] and playing my game and not worrying about who’s at the other end of too much. So it is sort of water off a duck’s back.”